AN exhausted Peter Fell wasn’t mincing his words as he reflected on the second of this year’s Ballindenisk International Horse Trials which, following a dry and sunny start, concluded in horrendous weather conditions last Sunday.

“It was a challenge, a real battle to get through it,” said the event director who was also a member of the cross-country course design team. “We have been running events here for nearly 50 years and while we have had dry Ballindenisks and wet Ballindenisks, we have never conditions like these before. This, however, is the new norm and we’ll just have to deal with these challenges.

“It would have been very easy for us to cancel but there were riders who needed runs for qualifications and I knew we could keep going as we have a fantastic team here. My brother Andrew came over from England and without his help I don’t think I would have managed.

“The medical team, led by Dr Mary Flannery, were fantastic as were our technical delegates, the stewards, the vets, the course designers and the fence repair team all of whom were consulted to see if we could go ahead, agreed that we could and then pulled out all the stops to ensure that we did.

“We never would have managed without our big sand arena as, not only was there safe footing but, being sheltered meant that we didn’t have to worry about the show jumps being blown down in what was a very strong wind on Sunday.

“People rode sensibly across the country, those looking for qualifications doing their best to achieve them while some ran their horses to see how they would cope in these conditions with the future in mind.

“For all the wind and rain, and it was a really tough event for everyone to get through, there was a wonderful atmosphere.

“We had a great party for the Youth riders and their support teams on Friday night, the new owners’ group provided hospitality in the polo hunt each day and then on Saturday night we had a big screen set up in the restaurant for the match in Paris.”